Game, Set, Match, just in time for the U.S. Open! Or maybe not.

Ah, tennis. A game where rich people sit in the stands watching sweaty people hit a small yellow ball back and forth. I know, tennis is more than that, unfortunately Smash Court Tennis 3 doesn't make it look that way.

Welcome to your career in pro tennis. When starting a new game, players create a tennis player, complete with different hair styles, clothes, facial features, etc. Once a character has been created, it's off to the tournaments. Oh wait, we have to learn how to play the game first. Lucky for us there are lots of tutorials. Players can choose to go through the tutorials of the game, which is recommended or defiantly read the instructions.

There are several different modes of play in Smash Court Tennis 3; Exhibition, Pro Tour, Arcade and challenge. Exhibition is pretty self-explanatory. Arcade is similar to exhibition, except you can choose from 16 different real tennis players and choose the number of matches to play. Challenge mode is by far the most fun, and are best described as theme-style tennis matches that involve such Namco properties as Galaga, Pac-man and even bombs.

On the pro tour players are given a schedule, which is full of different options. Anything from tournaments, to signing of sponsors, to finding a partner for double matches, you can choose from a range of different play modes. No matter what is chosen, you always end up playing some form of tennis. For example, when signing a sponsor, a player may have to play an exhibition match and be the first to five points, or if signing a partner you have to win an exhibition match against them. When players either train or win a match, their tennis player gains experience. As players gain experience and levels, they get skill points which can be spent on various skills and abilities, such as a better backhand or better control on your serve.

Controls in this game have much to be desired. I applaud Namco Bandai for attempting to be more realistic; unfortunately this tends to be extremely frustrating. And it is extremely easy to completely miss the return in a volley when the player must change direction and there are occasions where the controls don't even respond to running a different direction. Not to mention the occasional times when the player decides not to swing the racket even though the ball is right next to him. This fortunately does not happen often, though just often enough to make you lose the match.

Smash Court Tennis 3 would be a good game overall if it weren't for the bad controls. It gets extremely frustrating when your player doesn't do what you want, especially when the game is on the line. This game could have definitely used a little more fine tuning and unless you are a hard core tennis fan, I would say pass on this game.